TY - JOUR U1 - Zeitschriftenartikel, wissenschaftlich - begutachtet (reviewed) A1 - Lemloh, Marie-Louise A1 - Pohl, Anna A1 - Weber, Eva A1 - Zeiger, Marco A1 - Bauer, Petra A1 - Weiss, Ingrid M. A1 - Schneider, Andreas S. T1 - Structure-property relationships in mechanically stimulated Sorghum bicolor stalks JF - Bioinspired Materials N2 - Mechanical properties of plants and underlying structure-property relationships are important for agricultural purposes as well as for biomimetic concepts. In this study, the effect of mechanical stimulation on morphology and bending properties of the stalk was investigated for Sorghum bicolor (Poaceae), a widely used drought-tolerant biomass grass. An experimental set-up allowing for defined growth and mechanical perturbation (flexing) during a defined growth period was designed. Mechanical properties of individual internodes of the stalk were determined by three-point bending tests. We found that the three investigated lines showed differences in their general bending strength in the non-stimulated condition. However, similar high range of bending strength values was measured for all plant lines after they underwent the mechanical stimulation procedure. The anatomy of internode cross-sections was examined to evaluate structure-property relationships. An increased thickness of the outer sclerenchymatous tissue was observed for internodes with higher bending strength values. Dried internodes fail under lower strains but showed higher bending strength. These findings show that mechanosensitivity in sorghum is dependent on genetic as well as environmental factors. The experimental system presented here offers new straight-forward possibilities for S. bicolor line selection for applications requiring mechanical strength of the stalk. KW - poaceae KW - sorghum bicolor KW - stalk KW - internode KW - mechanical properties KW - three-point bending KW - bending strength KW - thigmomorphogenesis KW - mechanical stimulation KW - sclerenchyma Y1 - 2014 UN - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:291:415-3964 SN - 2300-3634 SS - 2300-3634 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2478/bima-2014-0001 DO - https://doi.org/10.2478/bima-2014-0001 VL - 1 IS - 1 SP - 11 S. S1 - 11 S. ER -